Indicator 20: International Comparisons of Science Scores by Student Computer Use and Internet Access at Home and at School

In 35 out of 37 assessed countries and other education systems in 2015, eighth-graders who had access to their own or a shared computer at home had higher TIMSS science scores than those who did not have access to a computer at home. In the United States, eighth-graders who had access to a computer at home had an average science score of 532, compared with an average score of 491 for eighth-graders who did not.

This indicator uses data from the science assessment of the 2015 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2015) to examine differences between the performance of eighth-graders who had access to computers (including tablets) and the Internet at home and at school and the performance of those who did not. Achievement gaps between those who reported using a computer at home/having access to the Internet at home and those who did not could be influenced by other factors, including socioeconomic background characteristics such as parents' educational attainment and family income.¹ In 2015, the eighth-grade TIMSS assessment was administered in 38 participating countries and other educational systems.² Thirty-seven of these countries and other education systems are included in this analysis.³ The TIMSS 2015 assessment was administered in a paper-and-pencil format, but countries could elect to administer the school, teacher, and/or home questionnaires online. TIMSS 2015 results are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000, with the scale center point set at 500 and the standard deviation set at 100.

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Figure 20.1. Average science scores of eighth-graders, by country or other education system and whether they have access to their own or a shared computer or tablet at home: 2015

▲ The size of the difference in science scores between those who did and did not have access to a computer at home is greater than in the United States.
▼ The size of the difference in science scores between those who did and did not have access to a computer at home is smaller than in the United States.
◊ The size of the difference in science scores between those who did and did not have access to a computer at home is not measurably different from the corresponding difference in the United States.
¹ Most of the education systems represent complete countries, but some represent subnational entities.
² National Defined Population covers 90 to 95 percent of National Target Population as defined by TIMSS. 
³ Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
⁴ Data for Canada include only students from the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Ontario, and Quebec.
⁵ National Target Population does not include all of the International Target Population as defined by TIMSS.
⁶ National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent) as defined by TIMSS.
⁷ Norway collected data from students in their ninth year of schooling rather than in grade 8 because year 1 in Norway is considered the equivalent of kindergarten rather than the first year of primary school.
⁸ The international average includes only education systems that are members of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), which develops and implements TIMSS at the international level. 
NOTE: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000, with the scale centerpoint set at 500 and the standard deviation set at 100. Countries and other education systems were required to draw probability samples of students who were nearing the end of their eighth year of formal schooling (counting the first year of primary school as year 1), provided that the mean age at the time of testing was at least 13.5 years.
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2015. See Digest of Education Statistics 2016, table 602.33a.

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On the TIMSS 2015 science assessment, eighth-graders in the United States who had access to their own or a shared computer or tablet at home scored higher than those who did not have access at home. The average eighth-grade science score was 532 for eighth-graders who had access to a computer at home, compared with 491 for those who did not. As a comparison, in Canada, the average eighth-grade science score was 528 for eighth-graders who had access to a computer at home, compared with 497 for those who did not. The TIMSS average science score was also higher for eighth-graders who had access to a computer at home (496) than for those who did not (444). This same pattern was observed for nearly all countries that participated in TIMSS 2015. The exceptions were the Russian Federation and Slovenia; in these two countries, the average science scores of eighth-graders who had access to a computer at home were not measurably different from those of eighth-graders who did not have access at home.

Although eighth-graders who had access to their own or a shared computer or tablet at home scored higher on the TIMSS 2015 science assessment than those who did not in nearly all participating countries, the size of the difference in science scores between those who did and did not have access to a computer at home varied by country. The science score difference between those who did and did not have access to a computer at home ranged from no measurable difference in the Russian Federation and Slovenia to 106 points in Qatar. In the United States, the difference in the average science score between eighth-graders who did have access to a computer at home and those who did not was 40 points—a difference that was not measurably different than the TIMSS average difference (52 points). However, the science score difference between those who did and did not have access to a computer at home was greater than the difference in the United States in 11 countries, including Singapore and Australia. Conversely, two countries (Morocco and Slovenia) had score differences that were smaller than the corresponding score difference in the United States. The remaining 23 countries had science score differences that were not measurably different from the score difference in the United States.

The same patterns were not observed across countries with regard to students' access to computers during science lessons at school. In 26 countries, there were no measurable differences in the average science scores of eighth-graders who had access to computers during science lessons at school and those who did not. Conversely, eighth-graders who had access to computers during science lessons at school scored higher than those who did not in 11 countries, including the United States.

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Figure 20.2. Average science scores of eighth-graders, by country or other education system and whether they have access to the Internet at home: 2015

▲ The size of the difference in science scores between those who did and did not have access to an internet connection at home is greater than in the United States.
▼ The size of the difference in science scores between those who did and did not have access to an internet connection at home is smaller than in the United States.
◊ The size of the difference in science scores between those who did and did not have access to an internet connection at home is not measurably different from the corresponding difference in the United States.
¹ Most of the education systems represent complete countries, but some represent subnational entities.
² National Defined Population covers 90 to 95 percent of National Target Population as defined by TIMSS. 
³ Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
⁴ Data for Canada include only students from the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Ontario, and Quebec.
⁵ National Target Population does not include all of the International Target Population as defined by TIMSS.
⁶ National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent) as defined by TIMSS.
⁷ The international average includes only education systems that are members of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), which develops and implements TIMSS at the international level.
NOTE: Norway is excluded from the figure due to a small sample size for students who did not have access to an internet connection at home. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000, with the scale centerpoint set at 500 and the standard deviation set at 100. Countries and other education systems were required to draw probability samples of students who were nearing the end of their eighth year of formal schooling (counting the first year of primary school as year 1), provided that the mean age at the time of testing was at least 13.5 years.
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2015. See Digest of Education Statistics 2016, table 602.33a.

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On the TIMSS 2015 science assessment, eighth-graders in the United States who had access to the Internet at home scored higher than those who did not have access at home. The average eighth-grade science score was 533 for eighth-graders who had access to the Internet at home, compared with 488 for those who did not. As a comparison, in England, the average eighth-grade science score was 538 for eighth-graders who had access to the Internet at home, compared with 490 for those who did not. The TIMSS average science score was also higher for eighth-graders who had access to the Internet at home (498) than for those who did not (445). This same pattern was observed for nearly all participating countries. The exceptions were the Russian Federation, Ireland, and Slovenia; in these three countries, the average science scores of eighth-graders who had access to the Internet at home were not measurably different from those of eighth-graders who did not.

Although eighth-graders who had access to the Internet at home scored higher on the TIMSS 2015 science assessment than those who did not in nearly all participating countries, the size of the difference in science scores varied by country. The science score difference with respect to internet access ranged from no measurable difference in the Russian Federation, Ireland, and Slovenia to 141 points in Malta. In the United States, the difference in the average science scores between eighth-graders who did have access to the Internet at home and those who did not was 44 points—a difference that was not measurably different than the TIMSS average difference (53 points). However, the science score difference between those who did and did not have access to the Internet at home was greater than the difference in the United States in nine countries: Malta, Qatar, Israel, Singapore, Hungary, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, New Zealand, and Australia. Conversely, four countries (Japan, Morocco, Chile, and Oman) had score differences that were smaller than the corresponding score difference in the United States. The remaining 22 countries had science score differences that were not measurably different from the score difference in the United States.

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Figure 20.3. Average science scores of eighth-graders, by country or other education system and frequency of computer or tablet use for schoolwork at home: 2015

▲ The size of the difference in science scores between those who used a computer or tablet for school work at home never or almost never and those who did so every day or almost every day is greater than in the United States.
▼ The size of the difference in science scores between those who used a computer or tablet for school work at home never or almost never and those who did so every day or almost every day is smaller than in the United States.
◊ The size of the difference in science scores between those who used a computer or tablet for school work at home never or almost never and those who did so every day or almost every day is not measurably different from the corresponding difference in the United States.
# Rounds to zero.
¹ Most of the education systems represent complete countries, but some represent subnational entities.
² National Defined Population covers 90 to 95 percent of National Target Population as defined by TIMSS.
³ Met guidelines for sample participation rates only after replacement schools were included.
⁴ Data for Canada include only students from the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland, Ontario, and Quebec.
⁵ National Target Population does not include all of the International Target Population as defined by TIMSS.
⁶ Norway collected data from students in their ninth year of schooling rather than in grade 8 because year 1 in Norway is considered the equivalent of kindergarten rather than the first year of primary school.
⁷ National Defined Population covers less than 90 percent of the National Target Population (but at least 77 percent) as defined by TIMSS.
⁸ The international average includes only education systems that are members of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), which develops and implements TIMSS at the international level.
NOTE: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) scores are reported on a scale from 0 to 1,000, with the scale centerpoint set at 500 and the standard deviation set at 100. Countries and other education systems were required to draw probability samples of students who were nearing the end of their eighth year of formal schooling (counting the first year of primary school as year 1), provided that the mean age at the time of testing was at least 13.5 years.
SOURCE: International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2015. See Digest of Education Statistics 2016, table 602.33a.

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In 25 countries, including the United States, eighth-graders who used a computer for schoolwork at home every day or almost every day had higher average science scores in 2015 than eighth-graders who never or almost never used a computer for schoolwork at home. In the United States, eighth-graders who used a computer for schoolwork at home every day or almost every day had an average science score of 530, compared with an average score of 513 for eighth-graders who never or almost never did. In contrast, in Japan eighth-graders who never or almost never used a computer for schoolwork at home scored 20 points higher on the science assessment on average than eighth-graders who used a computer for schoolwork at home every day or almost every day. In the remaining 11 countries, the average science score of eighth-graders who used a computer for schoolwork at home every day or almost every day was not measurably different from the average score for eighth-graders who never or almost never did.

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¹ Associations between socioeconomic characteristics and DLR access are presented in Section 1 of this report.
² Most of the education systems represent complete countries, but some represent subnational entities.
³ Armenia participated in the eighth-grade assessment, but its data were not included in the International Database. Thus, Armenia is not included in this analysis.

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